Minimally invasive treatment of disease, a revolutionary alternative to larger surgical incisions and longer recovery times, is undergoing its own transformation. Interventional radiologists are fusing imaging technologies with the accuracy of robots and automated instruments to help physicians target cancerous tumors and diseases with exquisite precision.

Three major categories of technology are at the forefront: robotics, global positioning systems (GPS) and next-generation image di

A new analysis showed that increases in bone mineral density (BMD) only accounted for 6 to 12 percent of the reduction in non-vertebral fracture risk that resulted from osteoporosis treatment over three years in postmenopausal women.

Previously, analyses of clinical trial data for three major osteoporosis therapies have shown that increases in BMD account for only a fraction (

Evaluation of WHO criteria for identifying patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome out of hospital: prospective observational study BMJ Volume 326, pp 1354-8

Current World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines for diagnosing suspected SARS may not be sufficiently sensitive in assessing patients before admission to hospital, suggest researchers from Hong Kong in this week’s BMJ.

The study took place in a newly opened SARS screening clinic at the Prince of Wales Hos

For patients with eczema, applying fluticasone propionate cream twice a week, alongside daily emollient treatment, significantly reduces the risk of relapse, say researchers in this week’s BMJ.

The study involved 376 patients with moderate to severe eczema from 39 dermatology clinics in six countries. All patients were experiencing a ’flare’ of their condition.

Patients applied fluticasone propionate (cream or ointment; once or twice daily) for four weeks to s

Uncontrolled use of antiretroviral drugs in developing countries could accelerate HIV resistance, warn researchers in this week’s BMJ.

Most people in developing countries who suspect they have a sexually transmitted infection seek care in the private sector because of the stigma attached, and evidence of uncontrolled use is already emerging among largely unregulated private providers, says Ruairi Brugha of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

These treatm

Discovery could lead to new drug therapy for some childhood cancers

Investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have discovered a previously unrecognized way that certain types of cancer cells can be forced to activate a self-destruction program called apoptosis.

The finding suggests that drugs designed to activate apoptosis might be effective anti-cancer therapies. This strategy would target specific molecules in the cancer cell rather than rely on chemothera

In combating West Nile virus, information could be the ultimate repellant. In an effort to develop an early-warning system for potential West Nile virus outbreaks, Cornell University’s Northeast Regional Climate Center (NRCC) and the Department of Entomology will spend this summer collecting climate data in areas where disease-carrying mosquitoes are found.

The U.S. government-funded research, it is hoped, will result in the first Web-based, degree-day calculator that warns publ

Goran Ivanisevic’s offer to serve strawberries at this year’s Wimbledon may be a more useful job than he imagined. As well as delicious with cream, this symbol of the summer could help fight cancer according to scientists.

Research has shown that natural plant chemicals in strawberries can inhibit the growth of cancer cells. And now scientists at the Institute of Food Research have begun work to identify the compounds responsible.

“The modern strawberry is just one of hundreds of va

An article published in the journal BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making describes the creation of the first comprehensive listing and classification of precancers, drawn from the medical literature. Using this classification, the precancers have been organized into groups that share similar biologic profiles and, hopefully, similar treatments.

Precancers precede invasive cancers. They are localized changes in tissue – lesions – identifiable by their morphologic structure. During car

One of the potential risks associated with the wider release of genetically modified crops and their use in mainstream agriculture is the hybridisation of transgenic plants with their wild relatives. Previous studies on mechanisms for the escape of transgenic material into the wild population have focused on pollen dispersal as the main route, but new work by scientists at the Université de Lille in France to be published in Proceedings B, a Royal Society journal, highlights the role of seed dispers

Researchers looking inside a pathogenic soil bacterium have found an organelle, a subcellular pouch, existing independently from the plasma membrane. The discovery within a prokaryotic organism challenges the theory on the origin of eukaryotic organelles and suggests a targeted approach to killing many disease-causing organisms.

“The organelle we found in the bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens is practically identical to the organelle called acidocalcisome in unicellular eukaryotes,” said R

Researchers at Johns Hopkins’ Wilmer Eye Institute and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals have identified an experimental medicine that stops the blinding blood vessel growth associated with diabetic eye diseases and possibly macular degeneration in laboratory mice.

By injecting a fused protein called VEGF-TRAP (R1R2) into the eyes or bloodstreams of mice, scientists halted new blood vessel growth in the rodents’ eyes and stopped existing blood vessels from leaking. Study results were publ

Mayo Clinic researchers have identified a new member of the important B7 family of immune system “co-stimulators.” Co-stimulators are molecules that are capable of turning the immune system on or off — and in the process, profoundly affecting human health.

Mayo Clinic researchers named this newest molecule B7-H4. It inhibits the action of T cells, the immune system warriors whose basic job is to attack invaders. Turning off T cells helps transplant patients accept foreign organs. But turni

Acrylamide, a possible human carcinogen that has been found in a variety of fried and starch-based foods, appears to exert its mutagenicity (the capacity to induce mutations) by forming DNA adducts and introducing genetic mutations, according to a study in the June 18 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. DNA adducts can interfere with the DNA replication process and lead to mutations and, in theory, to tumor formation.

Exposure to acrylamide has been shown to increase the

Transplant research takes a hopeful step

Researchers at Kansas State University have successfully transplanted cells from one species to another without triggering an immune system rejection response or requiring drugs to suppress the immune system.

This hopeful news for transplant medicine is reported in the online edition of the journal Experimental Neurology, published by Elsevier.

Researchers transplanted umbilical cord matrix stem cells from a pig into the bra

Many of the body’s responses to large changes in environmental light are controlled by a newly discovered light detection system in the eye, scientists report today.

Researchers from the UK, Canada, the USA and Germany reveal that the eye’s brightness detection system helps set the body’s internal clock, regulate general activity levels and control the size of the pupil.

The new brightness detector system is based upon a molecule sensitive to blue light called opsin,